Village votes to leave UK over asylum housing plan

Residents of an Oxfordshire village have voted to become independent from the UK in a symbolic referendum held in protest at plans to house more than 1,000 migrants at a former military base.

Villagers in Piddington, near Bicester, voted on Tuesday over Home Office proposals to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers at nearby MoD Bicester.

The 350 residents were invited to cast their ballot in a small box outside the village hall, the community hub of Piddington.

The referendum was organised by the local parish council and out of 312 votes cast, 285 voted to leave, there were 26 no votes, and one ballot paper was spoiled.

Delivering the result, Susannah Parden, vice chair of the parish council, said: "We are Piddington the village that roars."

Following the result, council chair Tim McNally said: "This is an example of democracy in operation.

"We went into this village hall as the underdogs - we had a plucky idea. We have given a message to the world."

Responding to the village saying it had "roared", Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told BBC Breakfast: "I think they have – we have heard it, we are listening.

"I do really understand that when changes are made that affect your community it can be very distressing.

"We inherited an enormous asylum backlog, we are processing claims much more quickly, we are removing people who don't have the right to be here," she said.

"Small boat crossings fell this summer for the first time in many years because of the action we have taken.

"While we get a grip on the asylum chaos that we inherited we do need to make sure that we live up to our obligations and house people coming to this country seeking safety."

Joe Marshall, a Piddington parish councillor, said the village could elect leaders for its new "principality" and even create ID cards.

Asked how far it could take its independence campaign, Marshall said it depends on how much the government was willing to listen.

He added its main aim was to encourage other communities unhappy with local decisions "to push for similar things".

He cited the Principality of Sealand as inspiration - a former military platform in the sea off East Anglia declared an independent territory in 1967.

Tim Beader, Oxfordshire County Council leader, said the campaigners had done an incredible job at highlighting their concerns about the proposed asylum centre.

"It's partially about the proposal itself, and partially about how the government has gone about this without engaging with the local community or looking at the feasibility of this site," he said.

"It's the wrong site for the local communities, for the asylum seekers themselves, and for the taxpayer."

The Home Office announced the plans in June as part of wider proposals to move migrants out of hotels.

Known as "Site A", MoD Bicester is located between the villages of Piddington and Upper and Lower Arncott.

In 2005 it was the target of similar plans for an asylum seekers accommodation centre, which were abandoned by the then-Labour government.

This year's announcement sparked widespread criticism, including from the district council and human rights groups, with many residents expressing shock.

Piddington falls within the constituency of Lib Dem MP for Bicester, Calum Miller. He previously said the plans had been "veiled in secrecy" and that the process did not guarantee public participation "beyond a narrow list of statutory bodies".

However, earlier this month the government published an Urgent Crown Development application.

Miller called it a "clear win for local democracy and for every resident who refused to be shut out of a decision with profound consequences for our communities".

A public consultation on the plans is now running until midnight on 17 September.